ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Southern Conference Rifle Championship will take place Saturday and Sunday at The Citadel’s Inouye Marksmanship Center in Charleston, South Carolina. The championship is the league’s first in rifle since 1985.

The SoCon will crown team champions in both the smallbore and air rifle disciplines as well as an overall champion. In addition, individual champions will be crowned in each discipline. Smallbore competition will take place Saturday, followed by air rifle on Sunday.

Eight teams will vie for the inaugural team championship since the league reinstated the sport this academic year. UAB, The Citadel (co-ed and women’s teams), Georgia Southern, North Georgia, VMI (co-ed and women’s teams) and Wofford will compete this weekend.

The SoCon boasts a rich rifle history, with current members The Citadel winning a league-best 10 team titles and VMI claiming two in the league’s first incarnation (1956-85). West Virginia’s John Writer, the 1965 and 1966 SoCon individual champion, won a gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and a silver in 1968 in Mexico City, both in rifle three positions. ETSU became a player on the national scene from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, winning seven straight SoCon titles and placing third at the inaugural NCAA Championships in 1980. The Bucs finished no worse than fourth at the NCAA Championships each year from 1980-85.

North Georgia, ranked 20th nationally, would be the favorite entering this year’s championship, as the Nighthawks lead the league in team smallbore average (2260.15), air rifle average (2301.00) and aggregate average (4561.15). VMI’s co-ed team is second in smallbore average (2213.78), while The Citadel’s co-ed team is second in air rifle (2291.23) and aggregate (4493.92). The Keydets are right behind the Bulldogs in aggregate at 4492.67.

UNG’s Ruthanne Conner is the league’s active leader in smallbore (568.39) and aggregate (1145.77) averages, while The Citadel’s Allison Auten is the active leader in air rifle (578.00).

At the conclusion of the championship, the Southern Conference will name all-conference teams in both disciplines as well as athletes of the year in each discipline, a freshman of the year and a coach of the year.